# I Hate New-Agers More Than Creationists **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [October 16, 2009, 4:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hate-new-agers-more-than-creationists/513992 "2009-10-16T04:25:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2009, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hate-new-agers-more-than-creationists/513992/21 "2009-10-16T17:28:29Z")
> [@Aji\_de\_Gallina](#): > > …“refuse to educate …in scientific fundamentals”, aside from evolution, anything else? Not that evolution isn’t important and everything, but you can do 95% of all scitific research without even touching evolution. Wrong. It’s impossible to fully understand the biological sciences without understanding evolution. Besides which if you don’t “believe” in evolution then you don’t “believe” in science. It’s a pretty good litmus test, you ask me. ---
**Author:** ![BlinkingDuck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/eada6e/32.png) [@BlinkingDuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlinkingDuck)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2009, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hate-new-agers-more-than-creationists/513992/22 "2009-10-16T17:40:55Z")
> [@lissener](#): > > As a serious answer, Creationism does have something like the power to kill. If we continue the trend of refusing to educate our children on scientific fundamentals, the progress of medical science will be adversely affected. You can’t be a biological scientist without understanding evolution. A stretch of course, but I wanted to make the point that refusing to teach children about evolution is more than just a cultural choice: it has ripples. > > Mmm, ripples. Want ice cream now. I once met a Ph.D in Cosmology (? - Astronomy like) that was a young Earther. If that doesn’t blow your brains apart I don’t know what will… ---
**Author:** ![TruCelt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trucelt/32/523_2.png) [@TruCelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TruCelt)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2009, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hate-new-agers-more-than-creationists/513992/23 "2009-10-16T17:59:24Z")
IME the Creationists I’ve met were VERY strongly interested in converting others, and in using legislation to force others to live by thier beliefs. The New Agers I have known, although typically blowhards, were at core uninterested in forcing anything on anybody, and had a distinctly “live and let live” attitude. So overall, although ignorance, especially \*purposeful \*ignorance annoys me in any form, the New Age thing doesn’t faze me much; except when I’m seated next to one at a dinner party. (The smell of patchouli affects my appetite.) I find the Creationist movement frightening, and especially the bizarre hold they seem to have on the Republican party. ---
**Author:** ![Covered\_In\_Bees](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7ab992/32.png) [@Covered\_In\_Bees](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Covered_In_Bees)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2009, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hate-new-agers-more-than-creationists/513992/24 "2009-10-16T18:07:11Z")
Well what else is new? **Aji de Gallina** just happening to take the opposite stance of everyone here. I never saw that coming. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2009, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hate-new-agers-more-than-creationists/513992/25 "2009-10-16T18:14:34Z")
Can one of you new-agers enlighten me a little more about what the sweat lodge ceremony is/was? The article quotes the relatives as saying that one of the deceased “suffocated”. And nineteen people were taken to hospital. Were all the participants piled up on each other? How big was the “lodge” that 50 people could fit in it? How long were they meant to stay in it? They fasted _completely_ for 36 hours beforehand? Could they actually have been suffering from dehydration instead? ---
**Author:** ![sqweels](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f19dbf/32.png) [@sqweels](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sqweels)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2009, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hate-new-agers-more-than-creationists/513992/26 "2009-10-16T18:44:44Z")
> [@Aji\_de\_Gallina](#): > > 1. Stem reasearch is not immoral. Killing fetuses is, at least direct your mockery to the right place. So is eating meat, right? “Meat is murder”. ---
**Author:** ![Anne\_Neville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Anne\_Neville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anne_Neville)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2009, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hate-new-agers-more-than-creationists/513992/27 "2009-10-16T18:57:35Z")
> [@tdn](#): > > Shoot me if I ever buy healing magnets, though. But they can be useful too. My landlord used to sell the ones that you put in your shoes. I had a problem with the dryer opening (and therefore stopping) while it was running. I used one of the shoe magnets to keep the dryer door from opening, and presto, no more dryer problem. They could probably also be used to keep metal cabinets and fridge and freezer doors closed, if they don’t want to stay closed on their own. ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2009, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hate-new-agers-more-than-creationists/513992/28 "2009-10-16T19:00:17Z")
> [@lissener](#): > > As a serious answer, Creationism does have something like the power to kill. If we continue the trend of refusing to educate our children on scientific fundamentals, the progress of medical science will be adversely affected. You can’t be a biological scientist without understanding evolution. A stretch of course, but I wanted to make the point that refusing to teach children about evolution is more than just a cultural choice: it has ripples. > > Mmm, ripples. Want ice cream now. I don’t think that’s a stretch, **lissener**. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2009, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hate-new-agers-more-than-creationists/513992/29 "2009-10-16T19:00:57Z")
Good points. Also good for walking around and finding stray paperclips. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Angel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d26b3c/32.png) [@Johnny\_Angel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Angel)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2009, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hate-new-agers-more-than-creationists/513992/30 "2009-10-16T19:01:09Z")
The new-age types don’t actively recruit, but they do often make you listen to their self-congratulatory spiels about how spiritually impoverished everybody else is. When confronted with doubts they are shrill and precious in their martyrdom, and I often suspect that being huffy and histrionic is their real religion. ---
**Author:** ![furt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/439d5e/32.png) [@furt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/furt)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2009, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hate-new-agers-more-than-creationists/513992/31 "2009-10-16T19:04:05Z")
> [@Covered\_In\_Bees](#): > > Well what else is new? **Aji de Gallina** just happening to take the opposite stance of everyone here. I never saw that coming. :rolleyes: Would that we had more posters like that. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2009, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hate-new-agers-more-than-creationists/513992/32 "2009-10-16T19:07:23Z")
> [@furt](#): > > Would that we had more posters like that. I wish we didn’t. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2009, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hate-new-agers-more-than-creationists/513992/33 "2009-10-16T19:07:34Z")
Yeah, you can never have enough Creationism apologists, or something. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2009, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hate-new-agers-more-than-creationists/513992/34 "2009-10-16T19:08:08Z")
> [@furt](#): > > Would that we had more posters like that. No, you don’t! ---
**Author:** ![Smeghead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f1d935/32.png) [@Smeghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smeghead)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2009, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hate-new-agers-more-than-creationists/513992/35 "2009-10-16T19:36:57Z")
> [@Aji\_de\_Gallina](#): > > …“refuse to educate …in scientific fundamentals”, aside from evolution, anything else? Not that evolution isn’t important and everything, but you can do 95% of all scitific research without even touching evolution. Speaking as someone who does biological research, that’s nonsense. There’s not a single experiment I’ve done in school that would either make a lick of sense or give a shred of meaningful evidence if evolution weren’t true. The same goes for the vast majority of papers that I read. ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2009, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hate-new-agers-more-than-creationists/513992/36 "2009-10-16T19:44:16Z")
> [@Aji\_de\_Gallina](#): > > …“refuse to educate …in scientific fundamentals”, aside from evolution, anything else? Not that evolution isn’t important and everything, but you can do 95% of all scitific research without even touching evolution. Yeah, right. Let’s ignore little things like the evolution of disease and pesticide resistance, cancer, and biology in general. Denying evolution is like denying gravity. ---
**Author:** ![Aji\_de\_Gallina](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aji_de_gallina/32/260_2.png) [@Aji\_de\_Gallina](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aji_de_Gallina)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2009, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hate-new-agers-more-than-creationists/513992/37 "2009-10-16T19:54:41Z")
> [@Smeghead](#): > > Speaking as someone who does biological research, that’s nonsense. There’s not a single experiment I’ve done in school that would either make a lick of sense or give a shred of meaningful evidence if evolution weren’t true. The same goes for the vast majority of papers that I read. Let’s see. I said science, but I won’t escape. Of course biological research is a higher level than science at schools. Genetics: You can do Punnet squares and heritage even if you believe that the earth is 6000 years old. You won’t get the whole picture, but you understand the mechanism. The physiology and anatomy of animals and plants can be leant and understood without evolution. Of course, answering the question “why are they so alike?” will be difficult. You CAN teach science at school without evolution. It is stupid and pointless, but you can understand most things well enough. > [@Der\_Trihs](#): > > Yeah, right. Let’s ignore little things like the evolution of disease and pesticide resistance, cancer, and biology in general. > > Denying evolution is like denying gravity. Sure, but most creationists will agree on the mechanisms and call it “micro” evolution. I fail to see that evoluton is the cornerstone oif all science, this kind of thinking only applies in the US. As stuoid as not undrerstanding evolution is, you can still be a top level engineer, physic, astrophysic without Darwin. It’s wrong, but it won’t affect yopu results. BTW; it not like denying gravity, not even remotely. ---
**Author:** ![buttonjockey308](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bcef8e/32.png) [@buttonjockey308](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/buttonjockey308)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2009, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hate-new-agers-more-than-creationists/513992/38 "2009-10-16T20:01:22Z")
> [@Attack\_from\_the\_3rd\_dimension](#): > > What annoys me most about New-Agers is the buffet approach to religion. “I think I’ll take some Tibetan Buddhism, a little piece of Hinduism, just the happy jesus bit of christianity, and round it out with a sweat lodge. Oh! Kabbalah!” If you’ve got to hold on to a religion and live your life according to one, perhaps cobbling one together from the good parts of many and letting the really bad shit just die on the vine would be a positive sort of situation. ---
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2009, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hate-new-agers-more-than-creationists/513992/39 "2009-10-16T20:14:05Z")
> [@Aji\_de\_Gallina](#): > > Let’s see. I said science, but I won’t escape. Of course biological research is a higher level than science at schools. > Genetics: You can do Punnet squares and heritage even if you believe that the earth is 6000 years old. You won’t get the whole picture, but you understand the mechanism. > The physiology and anatomy of animals and plants can be leant and understood without evolution. Of course, answering the question “why are they so alike?” will be difficult. > You CAN teach science at school without evolution. It is stupid and pointless, but you can understand most things well enough. > > Sure, but most creationists will agree on the mechanisms and call it “micro” evolution. > I fail to see that evoluton is the cornerstone oif all science, this kind of thinking only applies in the US. > As stuoid as not undrerstanding evolution is, you can still be a top level engineer, physic, astrophysic without Darwin. > It’s wrong, but it won’t affect yopu results. > > BTW; it not like denying gravity, not even remotely. [ol] [li]You are retarded.[/li][li]The other thing that applies in the U.S. is we mostly know how to read English. [/li][li]Read the actual thread before you try to contradict it.[/li][li]You’re still retarded. I wrote that again since you probably didn’t read the first time I said it.[/li][/ol] ---
**Author:** ![Gangster\_Octopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a8b319/32.png) [@Gangster\_Octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gangster_Octopus)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2009, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hate-new-agers-more-than-creationists/513992/40 "2009-10-16T20:22:23Z")
New-ager to me is far more broad than Creationist. Wouldn’t the appropriate criticism be new-ager versus Christianity? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hate-new-agers-more-than-creationists/513992.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hate-new-agers-more-than-creationists/513992.md?page=3)